For many years, business travelers and professionals have been carrying briefcases in all types of weather conditions. Such cases are often made of expensive materials such as fine leather or other more exotic materials. Also increasingly, the business traveler, especially the air traveler, prefers not to check any luggage so that waiting time and the hassle of retrieving luggage from an overhead luggage and storage bin is reduced. The difficulty is that airports and the like public and private transportation facilities often have long walking distances to and from boarding gates. Hand carrying briefcases or other luggage over these distances can be cumbersome, tiring and awkward, particularly if other luggage is being carried. Also, ticket acquisition and presentation requires using one's hands and may require setting a briefcase down so that the possibility of theft or loss is increased.
Various protective coverings for luggage have been disclosed, including those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,711,234; 2,724,467; 2,732,046; 3,901,360; 4,953,674 and 5,107,971. Briefcase covers are specifically disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,083,644 and 5,172,795. These previous devices are specifically designed to permit the handle to project through the covering. Currently, any disclosure or suggestion of a means for both protecting the briefcase and for facilitating carrying of the encased briefcase is unknown.
Some luggage is manufactured with shoulder straps, but U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,674 for a soft shell clothing satchel discloses a cover through which an existing shoulder strap on the satchel may be extended. There is no suggestion of attaching a shoulder strap to the cover itself. To the contrary, holes in the cover merely accommodate an existing shoulder strap. Another device as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,971 depicts a thin shoulder strap which is attached to a protective shell for luggage. Such a thin strap is imbued with drawbacks because it does not provide adequate support against tilting. Also, the bag is not provided with structural strength from a continuous support strap around the bottom of the bag.
It is noted that U.S. Pat. No. 2,711,234 depicts a means for snuggling a covering securely on the exterior surface of a briefcase. A tie string is used to draw the material closed to the handle, which remains exposed. In another U.S. Pat. No. 2,732,046, elastic bands are depicted, apparently for providing a snug fit to avoid a sloppy appearance. However, no effective stabilizing support is provided or suggested. There is no prior design which allows stable non-tilting shoulder carrying capabilities. There is no suggestion of stabilizing a tote bag for a piece of luggage or briefcase from a shoulder strap and which support is from a leveraged upper position so that awkwardness due to tilting is substantially reduced.